Antiques shop moving for owner to spend more time with poorly son

AN antiques shop in Ringwood will be relocating after 17 years of serving customers from its prominent Market Place position.

Christmas Eve will be the last day Lorraine Tarrant-Heckford sells her treasures at Lorraine Tarrant Antiques, the former home to Rose and Alexander Hardware, before she moves to the Stables in Strides Lane, which will open three days a week.

“The idea is to enable me to make happy memories with my son Jon,” said Mrs Tarrant-Heckford, whose four-year-old son was diagnosed with Sanfilippo syndrome, a terminal wasting disease, in May.

She said: “I want to be able to go fly a kite and not have any regrets. Every single day we have together is so precious.

“Antiques used to be the be all and end all to me but that all changed after we discovered that Jon has this disease. My time with him is so precious and limited. I feel what we need to do is get out there and make happy memories that will last forever.

“I am going to condense the business down to three days, which means I will still be selling treasures and interesting items in this special town while spending more time with Jon. My customers are my friends and Ringwood is a very close and caring community.”

Mrs Tarrant-Heckford added: “Without meaning to blow my own trumpet, this is a very interesting shop and if we were to close we would be missed.

“We can always get another shop later, but Jon and I will never be able to get those giggles, laughs and those precious days together back.”

Customers are being invited into the shop for a glass of wine on Christmas Eve. The Stables is due to open in January. A half-price sale on selected items is being held to reduce stock.